Sound Control

Sound Control is a pretty decent venue to see some live music. My enjoyment of the fairly low key indie acts we went to see was severely hampered by the obnoxious loud groups that came in halfway through the warm up. I guess there’s nothing the staff can really do about this because all you’re going to get from telling drunk people to shut up is abuse but it was disrespectful to the musicians and made it all a bit stressful.
The music itself was great, although at one point the sound engineer messed up which made clearly annoyed the singer (Ruarri Joseph) who generally seems a v jovial guy so I guess it must have been a not very understandable mistake. Layout wise there are some columns close to the stage (this is on the ground floor) so it might be wise to get there early if you want a good view.
Drinks are quite expensive but at least the bar is well-​positioned versus the stage. Also the toilets are giant and clean which is unusual for this kind of place! I’d be interested to go back to check out the basement and I would check out what other live acts they have too, it’s a good place for an small show.

Great place to see a band. Small stage with amazing sound system. The staff were super cool. I was here the day of a show from the states and called to see if they had a ticket to a show that was sold out and they had a few so I ran over banged on the door, and the dude sold me a ticket. That is about as cool as you can get. Thanks Sound Control for helping out a Yank who was visiting for a few days.
Again, amazing sound system, and good prices on drinks for a concert venue.

Good for: great bands, recently Death Grips (full review here
) and upcoming Purity Ring on Nov. 24^th
Bad for: Short-​arses and cider

What appeared to be an interesting venue was totally ruined by the way the place is run. I saw Wooden Shjips here last night and for some reason the management decided to pack as many people in as possible, to the point it was dangerously over-​crowded and deeply unpleasant.
My wife and I gave up and retired to the bar area as it was so packed in the auditorium that we couldn’t move at all and were absolutely jam-​packed against everyone else in there. So we sat in the bar which is hardly the experience we anticipated.
What’s more the bars were run by utterly inept and clueless staff who took ages and ages to serve a couple of pints. On one bar only 1 pump was working so only a single beer was available. For a sold gig that is absolutely pathetic.
Never again. I just don’t see the point of filling a place to the point where no one can enjoy themselves. A 120 mile round trip from Leeds was a wasted journey Rubbish.

Simplest way to describe this place is hidden student nightclub. Down the road from the Thirsty Scholar and is usually and mostly popular on a Tuesday for its cheaper night out and drum and bass music.

Seen some really good shows here! The venue isn’t the best for shows in that the floor has no slope (can only see the stage if you’re at the very front), but the acts that play here are amazing.
The layout of the place is cool, the bartenders are very nice, and it gives me an overall good vibe.
Cool, cool place. Definitely worth going for a dance night, or a show. Get their earlier if you want to SEE the band…

good shop with a good range of products, helpful staff and noisy customers

I decided to finally give Sound Control a visit after it was announced untold motion would be holding its opening party there on Friday.
Sound Control is a name synonymous with Manchester music through its former incarnation as a music equipment shop and nearly everyone i speak to wants this venue to succeed.
Does the location work? It should do! The club is in a great spot right next to revolution on oxford road and situation in a thriving little street.
Does the venue work? Well i went on a club night (Untold Motion) and the venue really suited the night… pretty decent acoustics in the basement room the sound was crisp and sharp. the sparse interior suiting the minimal techy sounds generated by Martinez.
Lets remember the two most important elements of any club/​night is the sound system and music policy. I know some insane people will insist that the standard of the toilets or the quality of drinks at the bar is of equal importance. Wrong. It isn’t. The music should always come first.
Having said that it should be noted the facilities here are good however the bar is less than impressive. Firstly there wasn’t a great deal of selection (they had run out of Koppenberg by my second visit to the bar at 1am) and the staff were about as fast as a Skoda with four bald tyres. Sad times I got over it. Get the right night with regards to the music and Sound Control works.

Sound Control used to be something else called Sound Control.
Once upon a time, you’d walk in their to buy guitars and synths and the like, surrounded by balding men trying to not play Stairway To Heaven. Now, it’s a very, very different vibe.
Still music based, Sound Control has gone from instrument heaven to live music venue… as well as club night host.
So expect music music music of every variety.
The venue itself is pretty swishly decked out. So much so that it almost feels like it should be on Deansgate locks. Don’t let that put you off… it’s a pretty welcoming venue.
The beer they serve is okay. They’ve got their own branded stuff as opposed to familiar names. Essentially, if you’re wanting lager, you get the choice of Not So Strong One and The One That Is Quite Strong.
It’s a venue that has yet to find its feet and identity, but they’re doing some interesting stuff down there.
It could be around for a while if people take to it. I fear it could be crushed by the nearby Deaf Institute and the re-​opened Madchester-​fest, The Factory.
We’ll just have to wait and see.

I recently visited the relatively new club Sound Control in the buzzing Southern Quarter of the city. It opened in December last year but was previously an instrument shop which sold Oasis their first guitars. For a piece of Manchester history this is the place to be.
On a par with Hacienda memories, it is a rival for newly opened Factory club. The three floors and huge industrial spaces are similar and the sheer size of the place encourages you to explore. Unfortunately when I visited, I was there to see a gig and the basement wasn’t open so exploring stopped there. When you enter, there’s a bar straight away on your right and tables dotted around for relaxing and chatting, upstairs is a huge dance floor with another bar and a DJ spot high up in the ceiling above the stage (which also served as backstage for the band).
The upstairs space was perfect for a gig. The stripped back setting complimented a slightly gritty, up to the minute music venue. With exposed beams and bare features the black, red and grey colours spoke for themselves, modernising the existing structure. The owner, Ben Taylor is wanting to use the venue as a spring board for new music in Manchester and they regularly hold unsigned nights as well playing Indie and Electric stuff — think David Bowie with a bit of the Futureheads thrown in which gives a chilled out and pretty eclectic vibe.
The Spring Fashion show was also held at Sound Control to showcase up and coming designers in the Manchester area. The whole upstairs had been rejigged to accommodate a catwalk and the venue is so versatile that this event was entirely suited to the space.
Definite suggestion to go if you want to feel the real Manchester music scene.

I was excited about this new venture, I admire anyone who ups the ante in the whole alternative scene Manchester is famed for. A lot, a lot of publicity later, I’m still yet to check one of these nights they hold and there’s a lot to choose from. This is why:
I purchased the cheap ticket to watch Brooklyn band The Drums. I was looking forward to a) seeing this new hotly tipped by the BBC boy piece in action and b) checking out a new venue in Manchester, very ideally on Oxford Road.
Upon entry, not so bad. Definitely new. No lick of dirt in sight. The drinks were averaged price. It was definitely not the average garage and I imagined myself having a whale of time when the people would start rolling in and the dj churns out the tunes.
Instead I got a long long wait for even the support band to arrive not to mention the band I wanted to check out in the first place. The upstairs part was where the action was. Annoyed at waiting, I was soon to discover, there is no action at this place, no matter how good this music is, spacious and very ideal for a good ol rave. I was greeted with statues, playing with their hair, checking out the boy/​girl next to them, and then the boy/​girl next from them. The Drums were bloody amazing on stage, sooo energetic, definitely mad for it. But still this did not resonate onto the crowd and for the first time in my life I found myself conscious of what I was doing. It was late, beyond midnight, why aren’t you all enjoying the music, we’ve been waiting for so long yet we might as well be staring at a blank screen playing musical statues, was I the deaf one here?
I don’t know. From my experience of musical events at a venue so capable of hosting a god damn good gig, I was not expecting that. Too much hype and poor performance, I think mainly on the crowd it attracted. Maybe that night, maybe it does in general. Needless to say I wouldn’t waste my money going back there to check it out when there’s so many alternatives that deserve my loyalty. Maybe in a few months time when there’s actual hype from those who’ve frequented. Such a prime location amongst the likes of Subspace, Font, Joshua Brooks, Odder; it does not need to disappoint like this.

I agree wholeheartedly that Sound Control has potential. Its definitely a good idea and its looking pretty cool. Still, I’ve got to say its going to be a slow process now I’m afraid. I agree with Emma-​Louise, why didn’t they finish it, then organize some big opening night to get people going. Its location is perfect and the decline of Subspace and failure of The Attic means its ripe for a new venue to steal the glory of the Oxford Road night out.
The venue for the club bit in the basement is great. Its pretty similar to the Music Box or a small bit of The Warehouse Project or something like that. What its lacking is some good music and people to enjoy it. It’s a good point about the bass being loud, but it might not be a problem if its full of dancing folks.
Basically its definitely worth keeping an eye on, and even now I’d say pop in and see whats going on because if its got nout to offer you’ll just have to move to another Oxford Road venue (not Font) so you’ve nothing to lose.

This is a genius idea. Take a defunct musical instrument and equipment shop and convert it into a live venue, bar and club of the same name. Sound Control. And why not? But here’s another why… why have they opened it when the place isn’t finished yet?
As a result the atmosphere is desolate and chilly. I went there with the blonde and two of her companions to road-​test this new place, considering I was meeting the BF at SubSpace a little later on (oh and FYI? The Friday night music at SubSpace has become dire. I’m a very disappointed little Unilocaler). With Sound Control on one level its lack of completeness lends itself to an unusual, unique place but on the other just feels sparse. They’ve tried to add a few personal touches like plants and wall art but overall it just comes across like a disused warehouse. We gave all three levels a go, from the wobbly medium density fibreboard tables of the bar to the vast and sporadically populated live room upstairs (several bands were playing, and they were actually pretty good… but they didn’t have an audience to speak of) to the club downstairs which reminded the blonde of a World War II bunker she’d been to a rave in. It was quite scary, and the bass thumped so loud I felt like I was suffering the five point palm that Kills Bill in the end.
Oh and a fight started in the bar, but it was swiftly taken care of. I was fascinated. It added a much-​needed touch of local flavour, maybe that’s a plus point.
So Sound Control has potential. When it’s finished it could be an amazing three-​tier place to relax with a few drinks, watch some decent bands upstairs and dance the night away downstairs. But at the moment it’s just got too few patrons and far too few decorative touches. I’ll keep checking back for progress.